Steph and Jim came down to spend part of their Spring Break with us so we took them on a tour of Hoover Dam, this time taking pictures. Again, it was spectacular!
According to Wikipedia:
"Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was controversially named in honor of President Herbert Hoover.
Since about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had been investigated for their potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. In 1928, Congress authorized the project and the bid was won by Six Companies. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and the lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over the dam to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule.
The dam's generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Hoover Dam is a major tourist attraction; nearly a million people tour the dam each year. Heavily travelled U.S. 93 ran along the dam's crest until October 2010, when the Hoover Dam Bypass opened."
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| Looking at the dam from the bridge |
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| Don't look down! |
This is the midpoint of the bridge. Steph and I started imagining an earthquake with a bridge collapse and what our escape plan would be. Belts around the metal like Indiana Jones?
We walked across the 1905 foot bridge to touch the Arizona wall and then back to the Nevada side.
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| Almost 900 feet above the Colorado River |
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| Those 2 dark specks in the middle of the flat area are dam workers. |
After walking across the bridge, we drove down to the dam visitor center and parked so we could walk around there. It was late afternoon and not very busy. Perfect!
The Nevada and Arizona sides of the dam
The spillways. You can see where the water line for Lake Mead used to be. Too bad it doesn't flow that high now. That would be awesome going over the spillway!
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| The generators that power the electricity for Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California |
After touring the Hoover Dam, we hit A&W in Boulder City for some burgers, fries, and root beer floats.
And the whole way home we heard the infamous dam jokes:
Clark: "What does a fish say when he hits a cement wall? Dam!"
Jake: "Mom, I want some dam mints from the gift shop again!"
